Kite accessory



July 26, 1960 F. N. KINNEY 2,946 5 v KITE ACCESSORY Filed Feb. 9, 1959 2Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY 5 F. N. KINNEY KITE ACCESSORY July 26, 1960 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 9, 1959 llllllllllllillllll;

INVENTOR BY fm ATTORNEYS limited States Patent KITE ACCESSORY 7 Frank N.Kinney, R.D. 1, Beaver Falls, Pa.

Filed Feb. 9, 1959, Ser. No. 792,111

9 Claims. Cl. 244-155 This invention relates generally to an improvedkite accessory of the type which is propelled upwardly on a kite stringand has a plurality of pivotally-mounted wings which are automaticallycollapsed when the accessory has reached a position adjacent the kite,and more particularly to an inexpensive kite accessory constructionprovided with novel latch means for maintaining the wings in theirinitially extended position.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a kite accessory havingan outer sleeve slidably arranged concentrically on an inner cylindricalmember for controlling the position of a plurality of radially-extendingcollapsible pivotally-mounted wings.

Another object of my invention is to provide a kite accessory providedwith novel latch means tripped by the kite or a tripping object adjacentthereto for maintaining an outer sleeve in a given longitudinal positionwith respect to a coaxially arranged inner cylindrical member to cause aplurality'of collapsible radial wingsto be maintained in their extendedposition.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a simple kiteaccessory which may be readily constructed from inexpensive materials,said accessory having a plurality of radially extending wings forimparting a rotary spinning motion to the device as it travels upwardlyon the kite string to assist in the tripping of latch means whichmaintain the wings in their extended position. 7

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become more apparentfrom a study of the following specification when considered inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. lis a perspective view of my kite accessory in its expandedcondition while travelling upwardly toward the kite on a kite string;

Fig. 2. is a perspective view of the device in its collapsed state whiletravelling downwardly on the kite string;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the device; and

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the kite accessory 1is mounted for longitudinal sliding travel I upon the string 2 of a kite3. The kite accessory consists of an inner cylindrical member 4 and anouter sleeve member 5 coaxially arranged telescopically on said innermember for longitudinal sliding movement relative thereto.

Pivotally connected to the lower portion of the inner cylindrical member4 are a plurality of radially extending wings or blades 6, 7, 8 and 9having upwardly extending tab portions 6a,, 7a, 8a and 9a secured attheir upper ends to the upper portion of the outer sleeve 5. Thewingswhich pivot about axes 6d, 7d, 8d and 9d, respectivelymay beexpanded (Fig. 1) or contracted (Fig. 2) depending upon the longitudinalposition of the sleeve 5 relative to the inner cylinder 4.

Resilient member 10 continuously biases the outer sleeve 5 upwardly withrespect to the inner cylinder4 to maintain the wings in the collapsedcondition. Latch rod 11 serves to maintain sleeve 5 in its lowerposition on the 'ice 2 cylinder 4 to maintain the wings in the expandedcondition of Fig. 1 as will be explained in greater detail below.Referring now more particularly to Figs. 3 and 4, the inner cylindricalmember 4 consists of a tubular sleeve made of a lightweight inexpensivematerial, such as synthetic plastic, cardboard, or the like and has anupper closure member 4a with a centrally located aperture thereinadapted to slidably receive the kite string 2. To the lower end of theinner cylinder 4 is secured the wing common base portion 12 from whichthe pivotally connected wings 6, 7, 8 and 9 radially extend. The wingsare also made of a lightweight synthetic plastic material, cardboard, orthe like. The lateral portions ofthe wings are preferably foldeddownwardly about central crease lines as shown in the figures.

Tab portions 6a, 7a, 8a and 9a are partially cut from the wings andarefolded upwardly as shown inFig. 4. The upper ends of the tabs arerigidly secured to the outer sleeve 5 which. is mounted for longitudinalsliding movement upon the inner cylindrical member 4. Resilient members10, which may be portions of rubber bands, light springs etc., aresecured at their upper ends to the upper portion of cylindrical member 4and at their lower ends to the lower portion of the sleeve 5. Theseresilient members serve to continuously bias the outer sleeve upwardly.When the sleeve 5 moves upwardly with respect to inner cylinder 4, thetabs are also moved upwardly to pivotally raise the wings about theirpivot connections (6d, 7d, 8d and 9d) to the base portion 12 until thewings are in the collapsed position illustrated in Fig. 2.

In order to maintain the sleeve 5 in its lower position on the cylinder4 and to maintain the wings in their radially extended state illustratedin Figs. 1, 3 and 4, metal latch rod 11 is journalled in an aperture inthe top closure portion 4a of the inner cylindrical member. Intermediateits ends the latch member has a bent projection 11a which may beprojected through the slot 4b above the upper ex tremity of the sleeve 5after the sleeve has been manually displaced to its lower positionagainst the biasing force" of the resilient means 10. At its upper endthe latch rod has a bent tripping portion 11b arranged to beactuated bythe kite 3, an auxiliary tripping member 13 (Figs. 1" and 2) secured tothe kite string adjacent the kite, or by other suitable means. Uponactuation, the tripping portion 11b elfects rotation of the rod 11 tocause bent projection 11a to be removed from the slot 4b; sleeve 5 willthen be released and will be moved upwardly by the biasing force of theresilient members 10. Consequently the wings will be collapsed as shownin Fig. 2 and the kite accessory will slide down the kite string to theground due to the force of gravity.

It is to be noted that due to the creased configuration of the wings andin view of the provision of the wing slots 6b, 7b, 8b and 9b defined bythe bending back of the partially punched out portions, the kiteaccessory may be caused to have a rotary motion about the kite string 2as it is propelled upwardly thereon by the force of the wind.

The rotary spinning motion of the accessory will assist in the trippingof the latch rod 11 since when the bent tripping portion 11b of the rodcontacts the kite 3 or the obstacle 13, the rod will be caused to rotateabout its axis to displace the bent portion 11a out of the slot 4b.During cooking of the device the latch rod may be delicately set so thatthe bent portion 11a will be released from the slot upon the impartationof the slightest impact to the rod tripping portion 11b.

In order to facilitate the threading of the kite string through thecentral aperture 12a in the wing common base portion 12 and through thecentral aperture in the cover member 4a, the cover member may beremovably connected to the inner cylinder 4 by means of clip fas teners,a screw thread connection, adhesive tape means, or the like.

While in accordance with the patent statutes I have illustrated anddescribed the best embodiment of my invention now known to me, it willbe apparent to those skilled in the art that other changes andmodifications may be made in the device described without departing fromthe scope of my invention set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A kite accessory adapted for longitudinal movement along a kitestring comprising a pair of coaxial arranged relatively slidably movablecylindrical members, a plurality of radial wings collapsibly connectedto one of said cylindrical members, means connecting said wings to theother of said cylindrical members to cause radial expansion of saidwings as said members are axially displaced in one direction relative toeach other and radial collapsing of said wings as said members areaxially displaced in the opposite direction relative to each other,resilient means biasing said cylindrical members axially with respect toeach other in the direction causing collapsing of the wings, andtrippable latch means maintaining said cylindrical members in a fixedaxial position with respect to each other to position said wings in anexpanded condition.

2. A kite accessory adapted for longitudinal sliding movement along akite string comprising an inner cylindrical member, an outer sleeveslidably arranged coaxially upon said inner cylindrical member, saidouter sleeve having a length less than the length of said cylindricalmember, a plurality of radial wings collapsibly connected to saidcylindrical member, means connecting said wings to said outer sleeve tocause said Wings to be radially expanded when said sleeve is axiallydisplaced in one direction with respect to said cylindrical member andto be radially collapsed when said sleeve is axially displaced in theopposite direction with respect to said cylindrical member, resilientmeans biasing said outer sleeve axially relative to said inner cylinderin the direction causing collapsing of wings, and trippable latch meansnormally maintaining said outer sleeve in a longitudinal positionrelative to said inner cylinder to postion sad wings in their expandedstate.

3. A kite accessory as defined in claim 2 wherein the inner cylindricalmember is slidably mounted upon the kite string with the string passingthrough the longitudinal central axis of said cylindrical member, andfurther wherein said wings are pivotally connected to said innercylindrical member at the end thereof which is furthermost from thekite.

4. A kite accessory as defined in claim 3 wherein said latch meanscomprises a rod within and arranged substantially parallel to thelongitudinal axis of said inner cylindrical member, said rod having alateral projection thereon extending through an opening in theperipheral wall of said inner cylindrical member and engaging said outersleeve to prevent axial displacement of said sleeve relative to saidinner cylinder when the wings are in their fully extended position.

5. A kite accessory as defined in claim 4 wherein the projection of saidlatch rod abuttedly engages an extremity of said outer sleeve when saidwings are in their fully extended position.

6. A kite accessory as defined in claim 4 wherein one end of said rodextends axially from the end of said inner cylinder member which isclosest to the kite, said rod end being arranged to be actuated when theaccessory reaches a position adjacent the kite to release the rodprojection from engagement with said outer sleeve member.

7. A kite accessory as defined in claim 6 wherein said wings have aconfiguration to impart rotary motion to said accessory as it travelsupwardly on the kite string.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein said means connecting saidwings to said outer sleeve comprises tab members pivotally connected attheir upper ends to said outer sleeve and pivotally connected at theirlower ends to said wings.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein each of said tab members ispartially punched out from the associated wing to provide a slot in saidwing adjacent the pivotal connection of the tab thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,620,991: Brown Mar. 15, 1927 2,535,165 Shoemaker Dec. 26, 19502,833,497 Young May 6, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 439 Great Britain 1876

